Improvement in stage machinery



Y 28mm-sheen. JAMES SCH'ONBERG.`

Improvement in Stage Machinery.

No., 123,735- Fie 05d. Patented Fveb.13,1a'72.

MM' Q 2 SheetslfSheetZ; JAMES SCHONBERG,

Improvement in Stage Machin-ery.

No. 123,735. PatenredFeb.-13,1a12.

UNITED STATES PATENT QEEIoE.

JAMES SCHNBERG, OF NEI/V YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN STAGE MACHINERY.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 123,735, dated February13, 1872; antedated February 9, 1872.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Beit known that INAMES SCHNEEEG, of the city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Stage Machinery; andI do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming partof this specification, in which drawing- Figure l represents a frontview of my mechanism for moving scenery, showing the sceneframe in itsretired position. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same after thescene-frame has been moved out. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan or top viewof the same. Fig. 4. is a top view of one of the scene-frames. Fig. 5 isa front view of a modification of the above mechanism, showing how thesame can be adapted to Vscene-frames of diiferent height. Fig. 6 is ahorizontal section of the same taken in the plane indicated by the linex, Fig. 5. Fig.

v7 is a sectional side view of my mechanism for working borders orframes, showing the frame in an upright position. Fig. Sis a similarview of the same, showing the frame in a horizontal'position. Fig. 9 isa side view of my device for balancing scene-frames.

v Similar lettersindicate corresponding parts. The object of thisinvention is an improvement in the working of stage scenery, by means ofwhich the same is held, supported, advanced, retired, and turned withease and facility, and which allows of placing the same in positionsunattainable at present without great labor. My improvement consists,iirst,in a top slide moving in suitable guides, and provided withaswivel-arm, in combinationwith a sceneframe, in such a manner that,when the sceneframe is pushed out, it is caught by the swivel-arm, whichserves to support its top, allowing, at the same time, of turning thesame round to any desired angle; second, in a jointed extension attachedto the top slide and supporting the swivel-arm in such a manner that thescene-frame, when attached to the swivelarm, can be brought in anoblique position, and that, in pushing said scene-frame back, it can bemade to clear another placed directly beneath the top slide; third, in aspring-clip attached to the top edge of the scene-frame, in

combination with the swivel-arm and top slide, in such a manner that thescene-frame can be connected to or disconnected from the swivelarm withease and facility; fourth, in arising and falling guide, in combinationwith the top slide, in such a manner that said top slide can be readilyadjusted to scene-frames of different height, fth, in the arrangement ofadjustable sheaves, one on the working rope and the other on thescene-frame or border, in combination with a balance-rope and with thescene-frame or border, in such a manner that, by means of said sheavesand ropes, the requisite angle can be given to the scene-frame or borderat any point of its descent, and the angle can be readily changed bymoving the sheaves, either or both; sixth, in the arrangement of abalance-arm and weight, extending from the top or upper part of the legor support that is attached to the back of the scene frame, in such amanner that, when the support is turned out and the weight adjusted onthe balancearm, the scene-frame is held securely in position withoutscrewing the support down to the iloor or stage. Y

" In the drawing, the letter A designates a scene-frame, which isprovided at its bottom edge with caster-rollers a. rIhe top edge of thisscene-frame catches between arms b, which extend down from the galleryB, and serve to sustain the fralne A in an upright position. Said armsform the bearings for friction-rollers c, between which is fitted thetop slide C. If desired, the arms b maybe so arranged that they can belengthened or shortened, so as to adapt them to frames of differentheight. From the end of this top slide extends an arm, d, which is madein two parts, united by a swivel-joint, c, so that the lower part ofsaid4 arm is free to turn round its own axis. To the lower end ofthe'arm dis secured a frictionroller, f; and if the frame A is pushedout in the direction of the arrow marked near it in Fig. 1, thefriction-roller f catches in a guide, and finally in a clip, g, which issecured to the top edge of the frame A, (see Fig. 4,) and the top slideC is carried out to the position shown in Fig. 2. The frame A can now beturned to any desired angle. The arm d should be attached to the slideC, so that it is free to rise and fall a few inches, to compensate forthe inclination of the stage. If desired, the arm direction in line withsaid top slide by flaring guides b* attached to one of the arms b. (SeeFig. 3.) By the swivel-arm and top slide the frames A are supported atthe top, and the.

operation of shifting the scenes can be accomplished with great ease andrapidity. The top slide G may be made telescopic, so that it can belengthened or shortened at pleasure, and the swivel-ar1n d may also beso constructed that it can be lengthened or shortened, and consequentlyadapted to frames of different height. The top slide C, instead of beingfitted between guide-arms b, may be tted into a grooved beam, i, (seeFigs. 5 and 6,) which moves up and down in grooved standards jj, andwhich is suspended from ropes la 7o running over pulleys l Z in theupper ends of the grooved standards. By this arrangement I am enabled toadjust the position of the top slide to frames of different height. Incases where it is desirable to give a scene-frame or border an obliqueor horizontal position, I suspend said frame or border A* (Figs. 7 and8) .irom a working-rope, m, which is fast to the top edge of the frame,and operated by means of a windlass, n; and I balance said frame by aweighted or balance rope, o, which is fastened to the bottom edge of theframe, and which passes up behind the two sheaves p q,l one of which isattached to the edge of the frame Aft, while the other is attached tothe working-rope m. If the workin g-rope is slackened, the frame A* willgradually pass from an upright to a horizontal position, and it can beretained in any intermediate oblique position by stopping the windlassn. By adjusting frame can be made to turn down to the de.

sired point. In some cases the frames A, Fig. 9, are provided withsupports r, which are attached to their backs, so that they can befolded in close to the frames, or turned out to the position shown inFig. 9. If the supports are turned out to' this last-named position, theframes are liable to tip over, and the supports are generally fasteneddown to the stage by means of screws. Bythese screws the stage isinjured, and, besides this, much time and labor are required forfastening and unfastening the supports. I have, therefore, provided saidsupports with scale-beams or arms s, with a sliding weight, t. Byadjusting this weight the top of the frame is counterbalanced, and saidframe is prevented from tippin g over. The arm or scale-beam s may bermlyvsecured to the support, or it may be hinged to the same, and soarranged that it can be turned up when required, and turned down whennot needed.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The top slide C and arm d, in combination with a scene-frame, A,substantially as herein shown and described.

2. The jointed extension h on the top slide C, substantially as hereinset forth.

3. The combination of the spring-clip gwith' the arm d and top slide C,substantially as described.

4. The grooved standards jj, in combination with the guide of the topslide C, substantially as set forth.

5. The blocks or sheaves p q, in combination with the frame or borderAX, its workingrope m, and its balance-rope o, substantially asdescribed.

6. The scale-beam s on the hinged support i' of a scene-frame,substantially as set forth.

JAMES SCHONBERG.

Witnesses W. HAUFF, E. F. KASTENHUBER.

